I have our modem configured to only allow approved devices to connect, so even if I do share my password with someone or even just post it on the wall in a picture frame, I still have to approve their specific device manually.
yes, but you need the mac of a device on the network. These means you need access to the the router to see the approved mac addresses or you need access to a physical device already on the network. So, something like a wifi enabled security camera could be a risk for anyone securing their network this way.
I’m optimisticly guessing the devices talk to the router in such a way that their mac addresses can’t be eavesdropped out of the ether, and there’s enough mac addresses in the universe that cycling through spoofed addresses is unlikely to be fruitful.
Though, I could learn a device’s mac address by setting up a competing wifi device, possibly by a: having a battery-operated one during a power outage or b: being friendly with my neighbors “sure you can borrow my Wi-Fi”.
Now I’m curious how mac addresses are determined (like, is a Pixel 3’s mac address going to follow a specific pattern?) and I’m going to go look that up.
I have our modem configured to only allow approved devices to connect, so even if I do share my password with someone or even just post it on the wall in a picture frame, I still have to approve their specific device manually.
Is that bypassable using a spoofed mac address?
yes, but you need the mac of a device on the network. These means you need access to the the router to see the approved mac addresses or you need access to a physical device already on the network. So, something like a wifi enabled security camera could be a risk for anyone securing their network this way.
You can see mac addresses by packet sniffing, without decrypting data as they are transmitted in the open
learn something new every day
I’m optimisticly guessing the devices talk to the router in such a way that their mac addresses can’t be eavesdropped out of the ether, and there’s enough mac addresses in the universe that cycling through spoofed addresses is unlikely to be fruitful.
Though, I could learn a device’s mac address by setting up a competing wifi device, possibly by a: having a battery-operated one during a power outage or b: being friendly with my neighbors “sure you can borrow my Wi-Fi”.
Now I’m curious how mac addresses are determined (like, is a Pixel 3’s mac address going to follow a specific pattern?) and I’m going to go look that up.
Probably, but hey, it’s good enough for the everyday mooches out at our apartments. Not like I go around sharing my mac addresses anyways.
They are openly transmitted
I know. Thankfully these fools around here hardly know a damn thing about tech.